A Spoonful of Sugar
by carcassi
Summary: Never, ever, put a Kryptonian on a sugar restricted diet. Fluffy Chlark goodness, dedicated to all those fans of The South Beach Diet. NOTE: The T rating leans toward M. Chlark, of course, with references to Chimmy.
1. Chapter 1

**A Spoonful of Sugar**

**A/N: **_This fic is dedicated to all those of you who are fans of The South Beach Diet. As Chloe finds out, the diet sometimes brings unexpected benefits. :)_

**Chapter One**

Clark pushed open the door to the Talon armed with a bagful of candy and a huge grin. At a table across the room, a blonde head bent intently over the keyboard of an open laptop, slender fingers busily entering text on the screen.

Clark felt his grin widen as he watched his friend Chloe Sullivan at work, filled with a renewed sense of wonder that she was alive at all. Suppressing a shudder, he remembered the grayish pallor of her skin against the white hospital sheets, after she'd nearly killed herself saving her cousin, and compared it to the rosy flush tinting her cheeks in the glow of her laptop's monitor. Somehow, the sight made even Lana's tragic accident hurt him less. As painful as that memory was, the relief he felt every time he looked at Chloe was stronger.

These days, when Clark Kent counted his blessings, Chloe Sullivan was first on his list. And so, lately, he found his feet turning in this direction more and more.

The blonde head popped up, revealing clear hazel eyes and a bright smile. Clark shook his bag enticingly. "How about a chocolate break?

Chloe dimpled, but shook her head, turning back to her story almost at once. "Sorry, Clark, I'm on a diet."

Clark's stare took in the shapely curves under her red blouse and the temptingly tight jeans. With a start, he realized that he was beginning to squint into X-ray mode. Sternly, he suppressed the urge. "_You're_ on a diet?" he replied in disbelief. "Why?"

Chloe's eyes danced in amusement. "Thanks for resisting the radiologic exam. I guess that's a compliment." Her fingers resumed their dance over the computer's keys. "But I need to lose five pounds pronto if I'm going to look good in a bikini next month. So I decided to try the South Beach Diet. No carbs and no sugar for the first week, sorry."

Clark still stared in complete confusion. "I think you'd look great in a bikini just the way you are now."

"It's not for you," she answered, stilling her hands as she looked up to meet his eyes. "It's for Jimmy. I'm spending a week at the beach with him in July."

Clark's good mood disappeared instantly. He'd forgotten all about the freckle-faced wonder the minute he'd left Smallville, and he wished that Chloe had done the same. What did she see in the guy, anyway? True, he was nice, but he certainly wasn't worth giving up sugar.

"I told Jimmy what happened at the dam," she said quietly. "He insisted on making time for us, even if it meant giving up a plum assignment in D.C. He said it's about time we both appreciate what we have, while we can."

Clark had to admit that he knew exactly how Jimmy felt. Meeting Chloe's calm, happy gaze, he squirmed inwardly, thinking of all the times he'd taken Chloe's friendship for granted, or, worse, blown it off entirely. Unlike him, Jimmy knew a good thing when he saw it.

If Chloe wanted Jimmy, he had no right to stand in their way.

Morosely, Clark laid the bag on the floor, out of sight, and changed the subject, all the while fighting off the mental image of a tanned and happy Chloe playing in the surf with a lobster-red, flat-chested boy photographer in baggy trunks.

At least, he thought with some satisfaction, the kid had a better-than-even chance of getting a very, very painful sunburn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Three days later, Clark found Chloe in her usual spot at a side table at the Talon. "How's the diet going?" he asked casually, as he wandered over to the pastry counter.

"Great. I've lost a whole pound already," she replied, still deep in whatever article she was researching on her laptop.

Clark smiled hopefully as he examined the offerings in the display case. "Then can I talk you into splitting a piece of apple pie? It looks pretty good today." He'd had to finish his bag of chocolates by himself the other day, and while it hadn't exactly been a hardship, he'd discovered that the candy hadn't tasted nearly as good as the treats he usually shared with Chloe.

She barely even glanced up from her work. "Sorry, no can do. Besides, I'm on a deadline with this article. The _Planet_'s nice enough to let me file stuff from home this month to help me recuperate, so I don't want to let things slide."

Clark could hardly believe his ears. "You can't eat _pie_?" Some diets, he thought, were definitely not worth the trouble.

Chloe snorted in amusement. "Not all of us are blessed with a metabolism as super as yours, Mr. Stomach of Steel. For you, there's pie; for us mere mortals, there's the South Beach Diet."

Grumbling, Clark pulled up a chair next to Chloe and collapsed into it dejectedly, the chair groaning under the weight of his large frame.

At the sound, his friend glanced up from her computer. "Quit pouting," she said tartly.

"I am _not_ pouting!"

Chloe sighed and powered down her laptop. "How would you like to go shopping with me?"

It wasn't Clark's first choice, but at least they could spend time together. "Sure."

Her eyebrows waggled. "In Metropolis?" She darted a cautious glance around the sparsely populated coffee shop, and her voice dropped. "By Kent Express?"

Clark's grin returned, full force. "Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Chloe's warm weight nestled comfortably against his chest during the short trip to Metropolis. When he set her down, carefully, in a deserted alleyway near the _Daily Planet_ offices, Clark felt the same wrench he always did when he let her go.

He steadied her as she caught her breath after the whirlwind trip. "What are we shopping for?" he asked, mildly curious.

"Bikinis," she replied, cheerfully. "I need a male viewpoint. What do you think Jimmy would like?"

Clark's heart sank to his toes. He scowled, unable to hide his frustration. "Why do you think I care?" Even to his own ears, his answer sounded peevish.

Chloe turned to him with a look of pure exasperation. "I guess this was a bad idea. Maybe you should take me back."

Her sudden change in tone took him completely by surprise. "What's wrong?"

A steady, hazel gaze bore into his, accusingly. "For the last few days, all you've done is mope. I know you're hurt about Lana. I know you miss her. But I'm tired of being your cheerleader, okay? Just once, I'd like you to cheer yourself up. Is that too much to ask?"

Clark's jaw dropped. "You think that's what's bothering me?"

"Of course, what else?" Chloe's small, resigned shrug reminded him, uncomfortably, of a time, not too long ago, when he'd shaken those slender shoulders in a desperate attempt to make her tell him Lana's secrets. He blushed, avoiding her eyes, as she continued, softly. "It's always been all about her."

"Well, it isn't anymore," he replied quickly. The words spilled out of him almost by themselves and, with a start, he realized that they were true. "This is about you, Chloe. You've always been there for me, and now I want to do the same for you."

Now that he thought about it, that was true, too. It hadn't been Lana who'd stood by him when he doubted himself, or when he needed a helping hand against villains, human and otherwise. And even though Chloe had only died in his dreams, it was her death, not Lana's, that still gave him nightmares.

Lana's death might be a blow to his heart, he realized suddenly, but Chloe _was_ his heart.

Meanwhile, the object of this revelation was tilting her head in an enquiring gesture he knew well. "Oh? How?"

Clark hesitated, thinking of Jimmy, and of the sunlit beach where he and Chloe were planning to meet. If that was what made her happy, so be it.

He met her doubtful gaze steadily. "By giving you what you want." He extended his hand to her. "Come on, let's go shopping."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Clark spent the next several hours trailing after his best friend as she shuttled from one boutique to the other, each one, to Clark's eye, virtually indistinguishable from the last. As he squirmed impatiently in chairs outside countless fitting rooms, he listened to her wriggling into and out of dozens of bikini tops and bottoms, sternly reminding himself that she'd made him promise not to use his X-ray vision. Every so often she would emerge to show off one of the skimpy suits, and ask him whether he thought Jimmy would like it.

If there was such a thing as purgatory for aliens, Clark thought, he was in it.

Almost as bad was lunch, where Chloe demurely ordered a grilled chicken Caesar salad with lowfat dressing on the side, and a nonfat, decaf, no-foam latte. After a single, wistful glance at the dessert cart, he turned down her offer to buy him key lime pie. Like the candy, it just didn't taste the same without Chloe sharing it.

The next shop they visited was by far the worst, as far as Clark was concerned. It sold swimwear exclusively, and from the look of the racks, which were full to bursting with colorful outfits, he and Chloe would probably be stuck here for the rest of the day.

Clark sighed and took up his sentry position outside the fitting room.

There was the usual provocative rustle as Chloe's shorts and shirt hit the floor. Clark could hear the soft brushing of fabric against smooth skin and visualized Chloe pulling on bikini bottoms and tugging them into place. His vision blurred and reddened, until, to his alarm, a small corner of the carpet began to smoke. With a quick, embarrassed glance around to make sure no one else noticed, he stamped out the damage and squeezed his eyes shut until the heat subsided.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

For the better part of half an hour, Clark listened to a string of disapproving snorts and frustrated groans as one outfit after another was verbally crossed off her list. At last, a soft, delighted gasp alerted him that she was about to emerge.

Steeling himself against the expected sight, he looked up, and gulped.

The suit was crimson, of some shiny metallic material stitched in gold, and it revealed far more of Chloe than he'd thought possible up to now. The too-brief panties were tied together by flimsy-looking strings, as was the halter top. The top, in particular, made Clark nervous; the well-filled material seemed strained to the breaking point.

"I like the color, but it feels a little tight," Chloe remarked, turning around to give him the full rear view. "What do you think?"

"Um," he said through clenched teeth, blinking several times to fight off the telltale red haze, "it looks like a pretty good fit to me. What there is of it."

She ignored the reply, eying herself critically in the three-way mirror. "Maybe after I've lost a few more pounds it'll feel better. And this stuff stretches in water. Not that I'd ever dare get this too wet."

Maybe it was because the day was getting late, or maybe it was the way the slick scarlet suit clung to Chloe's body, but as he watched her pose, something snapped in Clark. He rose, and in one fluid motion, his hands were on her shoulders and her back was against the mirror.

"You look great, Chloe," he murmured, bending down close to her startled face. "No need to diet." His mouth closed over hers, cutting off her yelp of protest. As he pressed his lips against hers hungrily, he heard her heartbeat quicken, and the yelp turned into a small moan of pleasure.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she whispered, when he broke the kiss momentarily, but he noticed that she made no attempt to move away. Her voice was low, and her breath felt warm on his cheek. "What about Jimmy?"

Clark let his fingers trail slowly along the straps of her bikini top, then pulled her closer against his chest. "I'm not thinking about Jimmy right now," he replied truthfully, peering down at her. "And I don't think you are, either."

She stared at him silently for a moment as her bikini top rubbed enticingly against his tee shirt, rising and falling in time with her pounding heartbeat. "It isn't fair to him."

Clark shook his head. "No, this is completely fair. What wouldn't be fair is going to spend a week with him…..after this." His large hand cupped her cheek. "Unless that's really what you want."

Instead of answering, Chloe reached up to lace her arms around Clark's neck, drawing him back down into another, deeper, kiss. Clark felt a low growl of pleasure rising in his throat as he stroked her bare back softly.

"Total abstinence might work for the South Beach Diet," he rumbled in her ear, "but it doesn't do much for me."

A quick intake of breath behind him made them both jump. A shocked salesgirl was staring at them, frozen to the spot, while a pile of bathing suits slipped from her hands to the floor.

"I think we'd better call it a day, don't you?" Chloe said to him, then turned a beaming smile on the speechless sales rep. "We'll take this suit," she said brightly. "It's perfect. Can you wrap it up?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue**

A few hours later, Clark and a fully clothed Chloe watched the sun set from his loft in Smallville, arm in arm.

As the shadows lengthened into twilight, Clark gathered her into his arms for a long kiss, felt an overwhelming surge of happiness at her eager response, and wondered, for the hundredth time, why he'd waited so long for this.

She stepped back, but only by the space of an inch or so, and searched his face with eyes that gleamed softly in the light of the rising moon. "Are you sure this is for real?"

He met her gaze and smiled. "I heard something once, Chloe. I'm not sure where, but I've never forgotten it. 'There are girls you grow out of, and girls you grow into.' I grew into you a long time ago. It's taken me a while to get that, but it's the truth."

A dazzling smile spread across Chloe's face, and Clark forgot everything else for a while as he kissed her again, lightly. Lifting up his head, he added, arching his eyebrows, "There's something else you should know."

She cocked her head, eyes twinkling. "Oh?"

He grinned wickedly. "My sweet tooth's a lot bigger than Jimmy's. And I've waited a long, long, time for dessert."

His next kiss was far more thorough, and involved much more enthusiastic participation on Chloe's part. When it ended, her grin matched his own.

"Haven't you?" he asked.

**THE END**

**A/N: **_I hope you liked this ficlet, and good luck to all you dieters out there!! I salute you. :)_


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